New York’s real estate transaction process can be slow and grueling, especially if you don’t have legal representation on your side.
In this article, I’m going to answer a common question I get asked by home buyers, how long does it take to close?
Once you submit an offer on a home in New York, it can take between several weeks and a few months before you get a closing date, however, the standard time frame you will hear from real estate agents, loan officers, and real estate attorneys is forty-five (45) to seventy-five (75) days.
Your real estate broker and your real estate attorney, once retained, are both required to go through the transactional process with you, one step at a time. Unfortunately, it’s never as straightforward as you’d expect. But with effective legal help, the goal is to protect you and your interests through the entire process up until and even after the closing.
So, how long does it take to close on a home in New York?
This article covers the time between your offer being accepted and the actual closing.
Just because you submitted an offer on a home doesn’t mean the real estate transaction process has started. Your offer still has to be accepted and the seller may have other offers they need to vet through. The seller may also submit a counteroffer.
Finding a home, you want and submitting an offer that gets accepted may in itself take anywhere from a day to a few weeks. But what happens after that and how fast can you close? It depends on several factors.
Why You Will Need a Real Estate Lawyer for a Home Closing
If you’ve purchased a home in other states, like Florida or California, the idea of needing a real estate attorney to represent you during the process and at the close may be new.
In New York, all real estate transactions require the parties to the transaction to retain counsel. The duration of the New York real estate home closing process is often tied to the expertise and diligence of the transaction’s lawyers, so it’s vital to have an experienced real estate attorney.
“Having the right real estate attorney can make all the difference in how smooth a transaction proceeds”, says New York-based real estate attorney John Pinconning, owner of Piccinnini Law.
A New York real estate attorney handles all aspects of the closing process, including:
- Due diligence, is where your attorney will review everything from the property’s offering plan and financials to the board minutes for condos and cooperative units.
- Provide advice and representation on any legal concerns or aspects in connection to the property.
- Clearing title, also known as the property report, to make sure the property record is free of any liens or issues.
- Drafting your contract of sale and negotiating the terms of the contract with the purchaser’s real estate attorney.
- Scheduling and running a home closing, as well as reviewing all the closing documents, e.g. loan documents, title documents, to ensure you are fully protected.
The Basic Steps Before Closing
Between your offer being accepted and the closing, you will be taking several steps to prepare the home for closing. A basic idea of these steps are, but not limited to:
- An inspection on the home prior to entering into a contract.
- Attaining financing with an accredited lender includes an appraisal process to estimate the value of the home.
- Receiving board approval, in the case of an association or co-op.
- The closing itself.
Estimate Two Months Between Offer and Closing
To answer your question, it’s safe to estimate that it will take two months between the time your offer is accepted and the actual closing.
Above, I have listed a few of the basic steps necessary to close on a home in New York, however, there are many factors involved and a number of circumstances that could mean going back to the drawing board. How quickly you will attain financing also plays a big role in how fast the process will be.
No matter what intricate steps are involved or what comes up during the transactional process, having knowledgeable legal representation will help keep the weight off your shoulders and make the entire real estate buying process smooth.
Annie Justice
Senior Editor
Piccinnini Law
(516) 500-2110
